England v India

" both not out batters should get their 100's." - You know who we will blame if this doesn't happen don't you ! You do know where the Mess Webley and the bottle of whisky are stored if you need them?

First off a big shout out to the ECB and the groundsmen. The Test pitches this summer have been magnificent. Offering good batting conditions where we have seen a shedload of runs but still offering something to the bowlers. Even on the fifth days the wickets have held up and not become minefields. Nobody wants to see Test matches finish inside three days, and these wickets have ensured that the games last much longer and therefore become more enthralling. These games against NZ and India have been exactly what Test match cricket needed to combat the T20/One Day formats. Fantastic entertainment. Test match cricket is not dead.

Next, the new mentality being attempted by England. You can see what they are trying. Remember it was probably a year ago (or so) that England batted out against NZ when offered 270 to win the Test? How boring was that? Historically, when a team were presented with a largish total in the fourth innings they would 'bat carefully', take runs when they could, and wait to see how the innings developed. This allowed the fielding team to set an attacking field with many players in catching positions as the batsmen were not really looking at scoring runs (as such). In effect, this increased the chances of getting out. The new England approach is to attack and score quickly. This forces the fielding team to take fielders away from catching positions to stem the flow of runs and in effect, reducing the chances of the batsmen getting out. It's not rocket science, but before now no team has had the nerve to attempt it. This appears to be England's 'new way'. They are attempting to change the way/attitude/mentality that has historically been the case. Look at yesterday as a prime example. The England openers came out and India set an attacking field. They knocked up a 100 run partnership in 114 balls. Fielders were in attacking positions leaving gaps everywhere in the field. Suddenly, England were back in the game and India were on the back foot. It will not work every time, and in some cases will end in complete disaster but you have to applaud and support what England are attempting to do.

This last morning will be epic, no matter which way the game goes. Another full house on day 5 of a Test match. That doesn't happen very often nowadays.

1st ODI v India - India won the toss and decided to field, Venue: Kia Oval, London

England 110 all out with nearly 25 overs to go, utter shambles again.

Roy, Root, Stokes and Livingstone all out for 0, Buttler 30, Topley 21.

Bumrah 6-19, Shami 3-31 & Krishna 1-26.

Between innings (3.10pm)